A Mistrial In The Making
by Rosajean
Summary: Gillian and Ria are expert witnesses in a jury trial, but something goes wrong. Very, very wrong.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for a strong affinity for Lie To Me and everything having to do with it.**

Gillian and Ria walked into the courtroom together, taking a seat behind the Assistant District Attorney Helen Moyer, and continuing the conversation they had started on the way to the courthouse from The Lightman Group building. Gillian had been offering encouragement and advice to Ria the entire way since it was her first time as an expert witness.

"_Just remember, don't get too complicated with the science. Keep it simple so that the jury can understand everything clearly. I'll probably be called first and after I've been cross-examined they'll call you, okay?"_ Ria nodded in reply, but Gillian could tell she was nervous. _"Don't be nervous. They're not going to ask you anything you don't know. And if they do, just be honest. You'll do fine."_ She offered her a smile, hoping to calm the younger woman's nerves.

They sat in silence together for a few minutes, watching as the lawyers, and several observers entered the room, followed by the defendant who was escorted in by a guard through a side door. Next came the court reporter and the clerk of the court, and then 12 jury members were brought in. They stood as the clerk announced the entry of the judge and as they took their seats again Ria looked back to survey the gallery. The doors had just closed and there were only a handful of other people in the courtroom, just four guys sitting behind the defendant and his two lawyers, and an elderly couple, sitting a few rows behind Ria and Gillian. Based on what she had seen on television, she had expected there to be a lot more people filling the courtroom. But then again, it wasn't as if it was a particularly high profile case. A young man, a member of one of D.C.'s many gangs, had been caught fleeing the scene after a robbery and had declared his innocence. The Lightman Group had been brought in to interview him since the physical evidence was somewhat lacking and they had found him to be guilty, so the case went to a jury trial.

The ADA was instructed to call her first witness, and Gillian made her way up to the stand. She was sworn in and then answered the attorney's questions on vocal analysis, showing the jury a taped interview with the defendant and explaining how the raised pitch in his voice when he stated that he had never been in the store that was robbed indicated that he was actually lying. She pointed out other indicators of deception in his voice as well, including a slight delay in answer when he was asked for an alibi and the way his hesitancy suggested he was making up the story on the spot. On the cross-examination, the defendant's lawyers grilled her for over a half hour on the science behind vocal analysis and its susceptibility to errors when the interviewee was particularly nervous or tired. Overall, when she was excused she felt that she had done a decent job defending her findings, though she could tell from their facial expressions that 4 of the jurors remained unconvinced. The judge called for a fifteen minute recess before they continued with the trial and promptly left the courtroom. Gillian made her way back to where Ria was sitting and sat down on the bench beside her.

"_Good job."_ Ria told her as she took a seat.

The ADA turned around to face the two of them sitting behind her. _"You did a great job, Dr. Foster. I think the jury is leaning our way, so far. Ms. Torres, you'll be up next to discuss the body language and facial expressions. Any last questions?"_

"_No, I don't think so. I think I'm ready."_

"_Great. Just remember to make eye contact with the jury members, especially the female jurors. It encourages them to trust you more."_ The ADA smiled at her reassuringly, and then left for the restroom. Gillian watched as Ria nervously fidgeted with her hands as she surveyed the courtroom. She considered saying something to her, but then noticed that Ria had suddenly stopped wringing her hands. She looked up, glancing around for what would cause such an abrupt change in her colleague's demeanor, and found Ria watching the four men that were sitting behind the defendant, huddled together, talking quietly.

"_Look at their posture," _Ria whispered to Gillian. _"They're angry."_

"_Very angry."_ Gillian agreed. _"And there's an interesting group dynamic going on between them. I wonder what they're saying."_

One of the guys looked up and noticed that Gillian and Ria were watching them. It was easy to read the look of contempt that he shot at them before hushing his buddies, nodding in their direction. The other three looked over and their expressions of hatred matched their friend's perfectly. Ria, feeling threatened, glanced at Gillian to see if she was having the same reaction. Gillian glanced at her, reading the slight fear and worry on her face easily, and told her _"Just ignore them. They're trying to scare you into not testifying, so just ignore them." _Ria nodded, glanced one more time in their direction and then faced forward, refusing to give them any power over her.

The clerk of the court recalled session and they once again rose as the judge entered. The ADA called Ria to the stand and she was sworn in. She took her seat, willing herself not to fidget out of nervousness in case it made her seem dishonest or unreliable. She was asked to explain her findings, and she brought up the interview again for the jury to watch as she walked them through it, pausing on the various microexpressions of deceit and explaining each of them to the jury.

"_Here you can see that he's lying when he says he'd never met the store owner before. He gives a partial shoulder shrug indicating that he doesn't believe what he's saying. Also, if you'll note the way his eyes are looking down and –"_ Ria stopped speaking in the middle of her sentence, staring out into the gallery.

"_Ms. Torres, you were saying?"_ The ADA prodded her to continue.

"_We need to leave."_ Ria stated abruptly, standing up.

Everyone in the courtroom looked at her in surprise, the judge included. _"Sit down, Ms. Torres."_

Ria looked at her imploringly. _"No, you don't understand. We _all_ need to leave. Right now."_ She tried conveying a message to the judge with her eyes, without saying anything, but before she could get the judge to understand the four men who were seated behind the defendant stood up, all of them brandishing firearms.

The oldest one turned and shot the only guard, who was standing near the defendant, killing him instantly. The courtroom erupted in screams of fear and shock. The other three had headed towards opposite ends of the courtroom, blocking the various exits so that no one could leave, not even the judge.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer's the same as always: I don't own anything having to do w/ Lie To Me, but I do own the story line. Sorry if the story is a bit slow in coming – I haven't entirely worked out the story line in my mind yet. **

Ria watched the takeover happen in the flash of a moment, as she stood frozen in fear on the witness stand. She watched as one of the men removed another gun from his jacket and handed it to the defendant. It took her a moment to realize that the eldest gang member, the one clearly in charge, was ordering everyone to move into the gallery, so he could group them together and control them easily. She watched as everyone – the jury members, the lawyers, the court reporter, the clerk, and the judge – moved quickly, filling the rows of the gallery. Realizing that she was standing alone in the front of the room, she moved out from behind the witness stand and began walking towards Gillian who was staring at her from the gallery, waving her over, with a look of fear plastered on her face.

Apparently dissatisfied with her pace, the man standing closest to Ria shoved her forcefully from behind, causing her to fall forward. At seeing Ria shoved to the floor, Gillian abruptly stood up, yelling _"Stop it! Leave her alone!"_ The ringleader walked over to her and backhanded her across the face, then shoved her down onto the bench, making it clear to the entire courtroom that any outbursts or disobedience would not be tolerated. Gillian's hand flew to her right cheek where she gingerly felt the sting that would surely turn into a nasty bruise very quickly.

She looked up to see Ria's attacker reach down, grab Ria's hair, and yank her up from the floor, once again shoving her forward and yelling at her, _"Move!"_ Ria took a seat beside Gillian, not saying anything or even looking at her, but grasping her hand, hoping to convey some semblance of comfort and reassurance in the gesture. She felt Gillian squeeze her hand in return and the message was clear to her: they would make it through this together.

It didn't take long before they could hear a crowd gathering outside the courtroom in the hall, obviously drawn by the sound of the gunshot as the bailiff was killed. Two of the gunmen stood in front of the locked doors that led into the hallway, assuring that no one could enter and that none of the hostages could escape. Once everyone was corralled into the gallery, one of the men pointed his gun at the ADA, ordering her to collect everyone's cellphones. He trained his gun on her, watching as she gathered cellphones from everyone except the jurors who had not been permitted access to phones during the trial, and piled them onto one of the lawyer's desks in the front of the room.

The five gunmen huddled in the back of the courtroom, discussing their plans while simultaneously keeping an eye on the hostages, until the black phone on the judge's desk interrupted them with a shrill ring. The gang leader walked towards the front, then seeming to change his mind, he turned back around and grabbed Ria's wrist, who was closest to him, and pulled her up. With his gun pressed into her back, he forced her to the front of the room towards the phone.

"_Answer it!"_ He commanded her.

Reaching across the desk with a shaking hand, she picked up the phone._ "H-hello?"_ She waited to hear a reply on the other end, then answered, _"Ria. My name is Ria Torres."_

Gillian watched from her seat as Ria turned around to count the hostages in the room, obviously talking to a police negotiator. _"22."_ Watching her eyes, she noticed Ria glance at each of the men with guns. _"5. They're all armed."_ Next she glanced to the side, where the bailiff lay on the floor. _"No injuries, but the guard… he…he's dead."_ She watched as Ria's eyes swiftly looked up into the right corner of the room, then quickly away, and back at the gunman closest to her. _"They want to know who you are and what you want."_

He snatched the phone out of her hand and then waved his gun in the direction of the gallery, indicating that she should return to her seat. While everyone's attention was focused on the gunman answering the phone, Gillian took the opportunity to discreetly look behind her and took note of the security camera in the corner of the room that Ria had glanced at. The knowledge that the police must be watching them helped to calm her nerves a bit. Ria took her seat beside Gillian and looked over at her, nodding almost imperceptibly to confirm Gillian's conclusions about the police.

The angry tone of the gunman cut into their thoughts. _"This is Jose Alvaro. Four of my men are here with me and we have 22 hostages. Make any move to take us out or trick us in any way and their blood will be on your hands. Got it?"_ He waited for an answer on the other end of the line before continuing on. _"We have three demands. First, we want 2 million dollars in non-sequential bills. Second, we want a helicopter out of here. And third, we want Ricky Geraldo Perez released from the D.C. penitentiary, no tracking devices and no police following him. You've got 2 hours. If you don't meet our demands within those two hours we'll start shooting a hostage every thirty minutes."_ He slammed down the phone, not waiting for a reply.

The room erupted in a series of screams and mutterings upon hearing his declaration that he would start killing hostages after two hours, until he aimed his gun at them, along with the other gunmen, threatening them to shut up or he would start shooting hostages immediately.


	3. Chapter 3

**My thanks to those who have been following along and to those who have left reviews – they're greatly appreciated. Disclaimer's the same as always.**

The next 30 minutes seemed to pass quickly in the courtroom. After the takeover and phone call, the initial intensity in the room seemed to die down a bit as they settled in to wait out the two hours. Even the 5 gunmen seemed to relax slightly, though they were clearly still commanding control of the situation, their guns constantly at the ready. Both Gillian and Ria studied the gunmen, continually looking for any sudden changes in their behavior or expressions that would alert them to pending disaster.

The judge and the ADA were sitting on the bench behind them and Gillian turned slightly in her seat to speak to them quietly. _"Do you know who Perez is? Or why they want him released from jail?" _She whispered to them, being careful not to attract unwanted attention.

It was the judge – the Honorable Eileen Hanover – who answered her. _"I was the one that sentenced him. He was the leader of a gang. Their gang, I would assume."_ She whispered, nodding towards one of the gunmen who stood several feet away.

"_What was he charged with?"_

"_Drug possession with intent to distribute."_

"_How long was he –"_ Gillian's question was interrupted, as one of the gunmen, the original defendant, grabbed her upper arm, pulling her up out of her seat to face him, and shoved the tip of his gun forcefully into her chest.

"_Didn't we tell you to shut up?"_ He spat at her, his voice conveying anger, annoyance, and a clear belief of his own superiority to her.

Gillian's eyes grew wide as her mouth parted slightly, her face expressing the fear and shock she felt at the sudden assault, before she quickly pulled her expressions into a cool, neutral appearance.

"_We were just discussing lunch. None of us have eaten."_ She lied, hoping he didn't have any experience or natural ability in reading faces.

_#_

Cal Lightman winced as he watched the scene unfold before him on the screen showing the live video feed from the courtroom. The knot of tension in his stomach tightened considerably and his breathing halted as he watched the man press his gun harshly into Gillian's chest. He watched them exchange words, watched the tell-tale signs of a lie cross her face, and only breathed again once the guy shoved her back down onto the bench and stalked away.

He had gotten the call twenty minutes previous and his insides had been churning ever since. He drove like a maniac to the courthouse, with Loker in tow, where he found out the FBI had taken charge of the hostage rescue operation. He had ordered Loker to start running background checks on everyone in the room, especially the gunmen, as he immediately headed for the screen the police had brought in that was streaming the courthouse video. He stood there, analyzing everything that was happening in the courtroom, his eyes searching continuously for anything that could help, and found himself cursing twenty minutes later out of his frustration at his inability to stop the guy from manhandling Gillian.

Once she was safely reseated, he turned his attention to Loker, who was seated in front of a laptop, his fingers flying over the keyboard with a fierce rapidity. He walked over to stand in front of where Loker was sitting, and glared down at him, head slightly tilted to the left, saying nothing. The younger man looked up, slightly unnerved but not surprised by the intense look that his boss was giving him.

"_I, uh, I might have something."_ When Lightman didn't say anything, he continued. _"One of the gunmen - the defendant, Mark Caldwell – is diabetic."_ Lightman stared at him for a moment more, then walked away, saying nothing.

Instead, he walked over to the FBI negotiator. _"Get me a line into the leader."_ he demanded.

The negotiator stared back at him incredulously. _"We have just over an hour until the deadline. There's no way I'm going to call him up just so you can analyze his vocal ticks or how many breaths he takes in a minute."_ His voice was mocking, and coated with a strong hint of annoyance at being interrupted.

Lightman moved quickly forward, stepping into the man's personal space, and barely a few inches away from his face, started screaming. _"THOSE ARE MY PEOPLE IN THERE AND THERE'S NO BLOODY EFFING WAY I'M LETTING YOU SCREW THIS UP SO GET ME THAT LINE NOW!"_

Everyone turned to stare in the direction of the two men, even Loker who had seen his boss lose his cool before, but never with such force. The two men stared each other down for a long few seconds until Lightman heard a familiar voice behind him and turned to find Agent Ben Reynolds speaking to him as he entered the room.

"_Look, Lightman, I pulled some strings with my boss and you're in if you want in."_ He stated in a calm voice, cellphone in his hand.

Lightman nodded and seemed to calm down enough to do what he had to do next. _"Dial the number."_

Reynolds punched in the numbers and handed him the phone. He walked over to the screen to watch the courtroom as he waited for the call to be picked up on the other end.

"_You're time is running out. You get what I want yet?"_ was the greeting Lightman heard on the other end of the line, the voice harsh and gravelly.

He took a deep breath, calming his nerves and ensuring that his voice was steady before he answered. _"Jose, right? This is Cal Lightman and the FBI are still working on your demands. But I've got a proposition for you."_

"_Ah, Lightman."_ Cal watched as the man on the phone turned to face Gillian and Ria, whose heads had snapped in his direction upon hearing Lightman's name. _"Turns out we have a few of your employees in here."_ Cal watched as the man's face changed into a snide grin as he looked at Gillian and Ria. _"What kinda proposition?"_

"_Food. In exchange for hostages."_

"_And why would I do that? We'll be outta here in just over an hour. And if we're not, well then, there won't be as many hostages for you to worry about saving, will there?"_

Cal cringed inwardly at the tone of the man's voice, silently recognizing that the man was not only capable of killing people, he probably even enjoyed it. He took a deep breath, willing his voice to not betray any weakness. _"Take a look at your friend, Mark. Does he seem anxious to you? Or sweaty? Is he shiverin' a bit?" _ He watched the screen as Jose glanced over towards one of the other men holding a gun.

"_What's your point?"_

"_My point is, Mark's a diabetic, so if he doesn't eat something soon, he's gonna pass out from the low blood sugar. And then you'll be down to 4, not 5."_ Again he watched as Jose looked over in the direction of who he could only assume was Mark. Jose called Mark over to him, but covered the mouthpiece of the phone so that Lightman couldn't hear the conversation on the other end.

Cal waited in nervous anticipation, along with the various FBI agents standing around him, until Jose returned to the phone.

"_You bring us food, and insulin for Mark, and we'll let the 12 jury members go."_

"_WHAT ABOUT MY PEOPLE? I want them back!"_ Cal lost his cool again, his voice filled with rage at the gunman.

He watched the screen as once again Jose turned to look at Gillian and Ria, a sneer on his face, a rather evil gleam in his eyes. _"I'll let one of them go, but I can't promise the other one will make it out alive. We'll let them decide."_ The man slammed down the phone.

Cal stood there, momentarily stunned, until he suddenly snapped.

"_BLOODY FUCKING BASTARD!" _he yelled as he hurled the cellphone viciously against the wall, where it shattered into various pieces and fell to the ground as he stormed out.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm thinking there will be one more chapter to this story (unless it ends up being really long & I have to break it into two). This chapter is a bit of a filler chapter, but it had to happen to make the story move forward. Anyways, disclaimer's the same as always. :) **

Gillian and Ria watched as Jose slammed down the phone and walked over to where they were seated. His eyes darted back and forth between them, as they studied his face, noting the malice in his eyes, and the sneer of his mouth. They had heard his end of the phone conversation, wondering if and now acknowledging that it was about them, but they waited to see what he would say.

"_One of you stays, one of you leaves. You decide. But if you don't, then you both stay…and maybe, I'll shoot you both."_ He watched them momentarily, grinning maliciously when he saw the anticipated shock appear on both of their faces, and then walked away, leaving them to talk it out and decide.

They sat in silence at first, not speaking and not even looking at each other, both of them wondering how you decide who stays and who goes. It's like deciding who lives and who had the very real possibility of dying. Ria was the first one to move. She turned in her seat, facing Gillian, and was a bit surprised to see a few tears making their way down Gillian's face. She had already made up her mind, but this only affirmed it.

"_It should be you."_ Ria told Gillian, laying a hand over top of Gillian's hands in her lap and giving them a slight squeeze before she removed it. Gillian looked over at her, confusion on her face, a question in her eyes. _"You should be the one to leave."_ Ria restated it, looking her in the eyes and trying to show her just how sincerely she felt about it. She had reasoned it out in her mind – if it came to one living and one dying, Gillian should be the one to live. When it comes to living and dying, it's not what you possess, but who you are that matters. And when it came to that, she was sure that Gillian had more to offer the world. After all, Gillian was the one who was always upbeat and positive, the eternal optimist. She was kind and caring even towards people she'd just met. She was intelligent and passionate. And even though she'd probably never admit it, Ria knew that she was in love – had known it since shortly after starting her job at The Lightman Group. Examining her own self, Ria was sure she couldn't compare. She wasn't educated like Gillian, she was more pessimist than optimist…or maybe somewhere in the middle, like a realist. She tended not to trust people, and she ran from forming too deep of relationships, always afraid that she'd be hurt in the end. And she didn't have a significant other in her life. Other than a half-sister, she felt that she didn't really have anyone in this world. She wasn't giving up on living, but if it came to her or Gillian, she was fairly certain it shouldn't be her. So she repeated herself, one more time. _"It should be you." _

Gillian, on the other hand, had not reasoned it out as Ria had. Rather, she was still in shock, sitting there wondering how they could possibly make such a horrendous decision. So when Ria turned to her and insisted that she should be the one to leave, all she could do at first was stare at her in shock, wondering how anyone could make that decision and if it was really possible that anyone could be that selfless. But even as Ria said it, she knew – she felt it in her very being – that she couldn't leave Ria behind like that. No, it should be her who stayed, she was sure of it. Ria was young, intelligent, and she had a lot to offer the world if she embraced all of her potential. Gillian had watched as the young woman had slowly blossomed under her and Lightman's guidance and she knew that Ria had a world of possibilities ahead of her. There was no way she could walk away from the courtroom and leave Ria behind to possibly die, so she wiped the tears from her cheeks, set her expression to one of determination and resolution, and stated, _"It won't be me. It has to be you."_

Ria opened her mouth to protest, but Gillian cut her off before she could say anything. _"I'll pull rank if I have to, use the whole 'I'm your boss, you'll do as I say' line if need be, but in the end, it has to be you."_ Gillian's voice held a note of finality, and Ria just looked at her for a moment before turning her body to face forwards and setting her face into such a complete neutral expression that Gillian couldn't read any emotion off of her whatsoever.

_# (Meanwhile, outside the courtroom…)_

Loker watched his boss storm out of the room and decided not to go after him, knowing that it would only result in Lightman lashing out at him and telling him to get back to work. No, it was definitely better to give him time to reign in his anger.

Having gone through all the backgrounds of everyone in the courtroom and not finding anything else useful, he decided to take over analyzing the video feed until his boss returned. He knew from the start that the FBI would never agree to actually meeting the demands of the gunmen, so as he stood there watching the feed, he devoted his attention more towards eavesdropping on the FBI agents who were discussing floor plans, entry points, and possible infiltration tactics. The more he heard, the more worried he became. Every strategy they discussed seemed to result in potential hostage fatalities. They clearly didn't have a good plan, and they were running out of time – only 53 minutes remained until the deadline. The more he listened, the angrier he got – at the FBI, at the gunmen, at himself for his inability to run in there and save two of the people that were most important to him in this world. He turned around and left the room, intent on finding Lightman and filling him in on the extremely inadequate plans of the FBI.

He found him on the steps outside of the courtroom, pacing back and forth, clearly just as upset as when he had stormed out a few minutes ago. He hesitated a moment before steeling his nerves and approaching Lightman, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him from pacing, then quickly removing it as Lightman turned towards him, anger burning in his eyes.

Wanting to cut him off before Lightman got a chance to start yelling again, he took a deep breath and plunged in. _ "Look, I was just in the room, listening to what's going down and the FBI are useless. They've got plans to go in shooting from several different entry points and it's gonna be a 50-50 chance at best of whether any of the hostages get shot. We can't let them do this. There has to be another way."_

He watched as Lightman's face changed from angry to worried as he told him about the FBI's plans. He waited for him to say something, but instead he just resumed his pacing back and forth. Loker watched for a few minutes, wondering if he should just go back inside, and had just decided to do so when Lightman stopped pacing and turned to him.

"_Have they ordered the food yet?"_

"_Uh, they hadn't yet before I came out here. I'm not sure if they have by now."_

"_Go tell them that I'm taking care of the food."_ Lightman started digging in his pockets, hunting for his keys, so it was a moment before he noticed that Loker hadn't left. _"What are you waitin' for? An engraved invitation? Move it!"_

Loker stared at him, knowing that he should just do as Lightman says, but his curiosity got the best of him anyways. _"Where are you going? What are you up to?"_

"_I have a plan," _was the only vague reply he got as Lightman walked away from him in a hurry, heading towards his car.


	5. Chapter 5

**So, I know I said that this would be the last chapter, but it's turning out to be really rather long, so I've decided to split it up into two chapters. I'm already working on the last chapter, so it should be posted soon! **

**Disclaimer's the same as always & thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated!**

Cal rushed to his car, knowing that the deadline was approaching quickly and he had to act fast if he was going to make the two necessary stops for his plan and be back in time to carry it out. He sped out of the courthouse parking lot, keeping his eyes open for the nearest fast food restaurant, and was relieved to see a KFC close by. Pulling in, he eyed the long line in the drive thru and decided it would be faster to go in. He ran in to the building, and pushed his way through the people waiting in line until he reached the front, ignoring the complaints of the people behind him and pulling out his wallet to slam two one-hundred dollar bills on the counter.

"_I need 5 meals and I need them right now. Doesn't matter what they are, but make sure there's mashed potatoes. Forget the drinks, but I need silverware – enough for 6. Get me them in less than two minutes and you can keep the change."_

He had gained the attention of everyone working behind the counter, and the gangly teenage boy running the cash register eyed him for just a few seconds before he turned around and grabbed a bag out of the hands of the girl working the drive thru who was just about to pass it through the window. He looked inside, finding three meals, and luckily all of them had mashed potatoes as a side. He grabbed a plate and made it up, mashed potatoes included, as another worker did the same. They shoved the two meals and the silverware in a bag, and handed both bags to Lightman, who rushed out, yelling a hurried _"Thanks"_ over his shoulder as he went.

Throwing the two bags in the passenger seat as he climbed in the car, he turned on the engine and glanced at the clock as he shifted into gear. Just 45 minutes were left until the deadline was up. He took a back road, hoping to avoid any traffic jams by staying off the main roads, and headed towards a sketchy part of town that he usually preferred to avoid. He fished his cellphone out of his pocket as he raced down the road, punching in the numbers from memory – the phone number of a person that he didn't even like to admit knowing, let alone making contact with him again. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

"_Frankie, it's Cal Lightman."_ He waited for the guy to recognize the name, before cutting off any greetings, making it clear he was in a hurry. _"I need you to meet me on the old street right now. I need roaches for 5. How much?"_

They agreed on a price and Lightman ended the call, pulling into a deserted alleyway just a few minutes later to find his old acquaintance waiting for him. He pulled up to the man, and rolled down his window just far enough to slip out a few twenty-dollar bills. He waited for the man to count the bills and then pass him a small plastic baggie before he sped off in a hurry, not waiting to exchange the obligatory pleasantries with the man like he usually would in the past.

He called Loker on his way back to the courthouse, telling him to meet him out front, and when he pulled in just a few minutes later, he saw Loker waiting on the steps for him. He pulled into a parking spot and checked the time – he had been gone 17 minutes, meaning there was only 34 minutes left until the deadline.

By the time Loker made his way over to the car, he looked in to find Lightman crushing up small white pills with a plastic butter knife. He opened the driver's door, confused by Lightman's actions.

"_What are those?"_

Lightman didn't even look up at him. _ "Go over to the passenger side and pull out the food. Open up the containers and set them on top of the hood."_

Loker found this to be an odd request, but then again odd requests were fairly common place in his line of work, and especially coming from his boss. By the time he had set out the 5 KFC plates & opened them up, Lightman was hopping out of the car, a small plastic baggie of white powder in his hands. He watched as his boss divided the powder up, spreading it equally over the 5 sides of mashed potatoes and then mixing it in each with the butter knife he had used to crush up the pills.

"_Seriously, Lightman, what is that?"_

"_Roaches."_

"_Roaches? As in roofies? The date-rape drug?"_ Loker stared at him incredulously, but Lightman didn't give an answer – which really was an answer in itself. _"But those are illegal. How… I mean, when… what if it doesn't work? What if they find out? Or what if the dose isn't strong enough? It takes 20 minutes for it to even start taking effect. What if there's not enough time? What if one of the hostages eats the food? What if the FBI find out? There's a reason this is illegal. What if it doesn't work?"_ His mind was already processing all the potential ways this could end in catastrophe, and he wasn't sure it was any better of a plan than the infiltration strategies of the FBI.

"_It'll work," _was all Lightman said in answer to Loker's rambling questions. But his confident tone suggested a certain knowledge, a certain familiarity with the drug that assured him it would work. Deciding it would be best not to question Lightman's familiarity with drugs – just one of many facets of a boss who had a rather checkered past – he helped close up the containers and followed Lightman into the courthouse with the bags.

Rushing into the room with the food, Lightman hollered at Agent Reynolds to call and let the gunmen know that the food had arrived. Reynolds strode over to where he was standing and glanced into the two bags, his brow crinkling in confusion.

"_You didn't get enough food for the hostages?"_ It was clear that he thought it tactless and inconsiderate, his voice indicating an accusation and annoyance.

"_Not enough time,"_ was the only explanation that Lightman offered, not wanting to give away the plan and give the FBI the opportunity to stop him.

Reynolds shot him a look of disbelief, but he picked up a phone and dialed the number anyways, then passing it over to Lightman, who had gone to stand in front of the screen to analyze the video feed again.

"_I've got your food."_ He stated when Jose picked up the phone. _"Insulin, too."_ He added, glancing over at the negotiator who nodded in affirmation.

"_Lightman. I was wondering when I'd be hearing from you again. What about the rest of our demands?"_ Jose asked, his voice gruff and commanding.

"_Well, we're still working on that. We need more time though to get everything ready."_ Lightman stated, hoping against hope that the guy would agree to it.

"_No. No more time. You've got 28 minutes until the deadline. You release Perez and have our money and helicopter waiting or we start killing hostages."_ He paused, waiting to see if Lightman would give him a reason to start shooting hostages right away, but when he didn't hear anything, he continued. _"You can bring in the food. Just you, no one else. When the food is in, we'll release the jury members and one of your people. No weapons, no tricks. Or you'll most definitely regret it."_ Lightman watched the screen as Jose hung up the phone, then copied the action on his end.


	6. Chapter 6

**Here it is – the final chapter! (I posted the previous chapter just a little before this, so make sure you've read that first.) Thanks for reading and thank you to those who have left reviews. They're much appreciated! :)**

Not wanting to waste any time, Lightman picked up the bags of food and the insulin, and made his way towards the courtroom where the hostages were being held. He stood at the door and rapped twice. The door opened just enough for a hand to reach out and pull him through until he found himself standing inside the room with a gun pressed into his side and the ringleader walking his way. Jose took the bags out of his hands, opening them to inspect the contents, then looking up with a wry grin on his face.

"_No food for the hostages, Lightman? Really, I expected more from you."_

All his years of study and practice seemed to lead up to this one moment where everything depended on his ability to keep his face blank, his expression neutral, so as not to give anything away, not to give them a reason to doubt his honesty or suspect him of foul play. They stared each other down for what felt like an eternity, but was barely a few seconds, and when the ringleader nodded his satisfaction, he barely suppressed a sigh of relief that would surely have given him away.

As Jose began pulling the food out of the bags and passing the containers around to his counterparts Lightman took the opportunity to glance around the room, taking in the dead guard, the 5 gunmen standing in various locations around the courtroom, and the hostages filling the benches, their faces clearly displaying fear and worry as they watched him in turn. His eyes finally alighting upon Ria and Gillian sitting near the front, he tried to study them covertly, not wanting to draw the gunmen's attention towards them, but wanting to ensure that they were okay. Noting the bruise on Gillian's cheek, he felt a strong rage well up within him and fought to control it, swearing that he would repay the culprit for harming his partner, his best friend, his blind spot, his luv, the first chance he got. Neither Gillian nor Ria was giving anything away and he was impressed and surprised with the amount of composure between the two of them.

He felt the gun being pressed harder into his side and glanced at the gunman holding it who was gesturing towards the door – obviously his sign to leave – but he didn't budge.

"_What about the hostages? You have your food, now let them go."_

The entire courtroom seemed to hold their breath as they waited to see what would happen, to see how the gunmen would respond to Lightman's demanding tone. Jose studied him for a moment before nodding towards one of his men standing off to the side, who grabbed the forearm of the closest jury member and pulled him out of his seat, pushing him towards the door. The other 11 jury members quickly followed him out of the courtroom.

"_What about my people?" _Lightman demanded.

Jose stalked over to where Ria and Gillian sat and looked down at them. _"Which one?"_ He asked.

"_Her." _Gillian had opened her mouth, set on telling him that it would be Ria leaving, but before she could, it was Ria who spoke up first.

The man grabbed Gillian's arm and pulled her up, ignoring her protests that it wasn't supposed to be her, ignoring the tears that had started streaming down her face, and pushing her towards the door where Lightman stood watching. He took Gillian into his arms as she approached, his eyes trained on Ria's as they backed away towards the exit. There was so much he was trying to convey to her with just a look, hoping she would pick up on his silent reassurances that he would get her out of there, hoping she would know that he cared about her, that he was worried for her, hoping she would understand his encouragement to stay strong, that she would get through this, but above all hoping she would comprehend his gratefulness that she had sacrificed herself to let his precious Gillian go. Part of him felt guilty for being so relieved that Gillian was free, while she was still trapped, but the strength of his feelings for Gillian was never anything he could rationalize anyway.

He caught a barely perceptible nod from Ria and then they were pushed out the door unceremoniously. Lightman watched as the EMTs rushed to them, pushing him aside so they could check Gillian over and make sure she didn't have any serious injuries. He waited for just a moment to make sure that she was okay and in good hands before he once again headed for the screen streaming the video feed from the courtroom, eager to see if his plan was working. Sure enough, the gunmen had already started eating, practically disregarding the hostages, their focus consumed by the fried chicken, green beans and mashed potatoes. Gillian came over to join him and he looped his arms around her waist, keen to feel her close to him again and know that she was okay. She nestled into his arms but kept her eyes on the screen as he did the same.

Standing there, Lightman began to notice a flurry of movements around him and looking around he realized that the FBI were planning on taking advantage of the men's focus on the food to implement their infiltration strategy. His heart leapt into his throat as his mind imagined all the horrendous ways this could go wrong and he knew he had to stop them, and quickly. Breaking his hold on Gillian, he rushed over to the FBI negotiator who was giving instructions into a walkie-talkie, coordinating plans with agents stationed at the other entrances into the courtroom.

"_Wait! Just wait! You can't go in there yet!"_

The agent glanced at him, clearly fed up with the way Lightman had been pushing his way into the rescue efforts all day, and decided to ignore him, as he headed over to look at the video feed. Lightman grabbed his wrist forcefully and pulled the agent back around to look at him.

"_You have to wait! If you go in there now, they're gonna start shooting hostages or they'll start shooting your agents and the hostages will get caught in the crossfires. Just give it 15 minutes."_

"_There's only 23 minutes left until the deadline. This is the best chance that we're going to get of them being off their guard and distracted. It's now or never."_

Lightman looked at him, exasperated. _"I drugged the food,"_ he finally admitted.

The agent stared at him in shock, wondering what would possess a man to take such a blatant risk that could potentially end very disastrously – not to mention that it was far from legal and very far from being standard operating procedure of the FBI. He brought the walkie-talkie up to his mouth, pausing before instructing, _"Stand down. DO NOT – I repeat, DO NOT – enter the courtroom until my mark. Understood?"_ He waited for the replies from the other agents before turning to Lightman for details.

"_What did you drug them with?"_

"_Rohypnol."_

"_As in roofies?"_

Lightman nodded and then explained. _"I put it in their mashed potatoes and it just needs time to work. Another 15 minutes and it'll start taking effect. They won't be completely knocked out yet, but they'll start getting dizzy, nauseous maybe, and disoriented and that's when you make your move."_

"_If this doesn't work –"_ The agent started.

"_Yea, I know. My ass is grass."_ Lightman cut in, easily interpreting the threatening look the agent was shooting him.

The next minutes passed agonizingly slowly. Everyone stood around the screen, scrutinizing the video for tell-tale signs that the drug was taking effect. The first one to show any signs was the defendant, 12 minutes after Lightman had left the courtroom. His immune system was already weakened from the combination of a lack of food and diabetes, and he stumbled slightly before taking a seat on a bench, putting his head in his hands. The other 4 gunmen hardly noticed the change in Mark, assuming he was tired or needed his insulin, but it didn't take long for the effects to start showing in others. One man slumped to the ground, quickly followed by another who was standing close to where Ria was seated. Jose rushed over to check them, noting that they were still conscious but not coherent.

Lightman watched Jose, whose actions seemed slower, rather drunkenly, but he was still holding it together. He watched the gunman's face as the realization began to slowly dawn on him that they had been tricked and drugged. And as the fourth gunmen slumped to the ground as well, Lightman caught the abrupt change from confusion to a murderous rage on Jose's face. He turned to the negotiator, yelling at him. _"NOW! MOVE IN NOW!"_

The agent relayed the message and they watched the screen as agents rushed into the courtroom from the front and the back. Screams filled the courtroom briefly from the shock of the unexpected intrusion, but it was perhaps Ria who screamed the loudest when Jose pulled her up and in front of him to use as a human shield. He pressed his gun into her temple and threatened to shoot her if the agents moved any closer. The entire room seemed to come to a standstill, and an eerie hush settled over both those in the courtroom and those outside it as everyone surveyed the standoff, wondering how this was going to play out.

The seconds seemed to stretch on and Ria wondered if it would go on forever, unable to imagine a way out, until suddenly she felt the pressure of the gun at her temple ease up and felt the body behind her slowly slump to the ground, just as the other men had done before him. Trembling slightly, she glanced over her shoulder to confirm what she felt, and then hastened away as the agents moved in to handcuff him.

She was rushed out of the room, along with the other hostages, and found Gillian, Lightman, and Loker waiting on the other side of the door for her. Gillian rushed forward to her, trying to comfort her as well as convey her gratefulness and relief in a silent look and a hug. Ria couldn't stop trembling, but she hugged her back tightly, her mouth curving into a small smile as Lightman and Loker moved in to hug them both.

They moved away from the door as the agents started bringing the stumbling gunmen through in handcuffs. Lightman put up a hand to stop their progress and turned to look at Gillian.

"_Which one of these scumbags bruised your face, luv?"_

Gillian didn't answer, but she couldn't help glancing over towards Jose. Understanding the message, Lightman walked over to him directly, brought his fist back and then slammed it into the man's face, breaking his nose.

Shaking his hand to ward off the pain, Lightman turned around and wrapped his other arm around Gillian's waist, walking her out of the courthouse. Ria intended to follow but the EMTs pulled her aside, intent on checking her over. She insisted she was fine, they insisted she stay, and she eventually relented when Loker walked over, taking her hand and promising to stay with her until she was cleared and then drive her home.


End file.
